HOUSTON, Nov 12: Shane Warne�s Warriors walloped Sachin Tendulkar�s Blasters by 57 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Cricket All Stars Series here today.
Tendulkar�s decision to put the opposition in to bat backfired as game�s heavyweights Kumar Sangakkara (70 off 30), Jacques Kallis (45 off 23) and Ricky Ponting (41 off 16) tore apart the equally celebrated Warriors� bowling attack to smash 262 for five in 20 overs.
The likes of Tendulkar (33 off 20), Virender Sehwag (16 off 8), Shaun Pollock (55 off 22) Brian Lara (19 off 21) and Sourav Ganguly (12 off 12) enthralled a sizable crowd with their brief knocks at Minute Maid Park, otherwise a Baseball venue, but it was not enough to scale down the mammoth target, ending at 208 for eight in 20 overs.
The �legends� now travel to Los Angeles for the final game of the series on Saturday. The opening match, won by Warne�s men convincingly, was played in New York on November 7.
Though the match�s outcome was not that significant considering the games are a mere exhibition, the famed former cricketers from both teams displayed fierce competitive spirit.
Tendulkar, whose promoting cricket in America alongside Warne, thanked the spectators for turning up in big numbers.
�Nearly 28,000 people turned up for the match and this is just fantastic. Hopefully it would be a hat-trick of good crowd response when we go to Los Angeles. I am thankful to the people for turning up to support us,� he said. � PTI
